Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 (1999 Version)

Featuring

Angela Hewitt
Johann Sebastian Bach

Did you know?

1/7

Compositional Technique

The variations are organized into groups of three, with every third variation being a canon where the upper two voices engage in exact imitation, progressing from a unison to a ninth.

Critical Reception

Wanda Landowska, who made the first recording of the 'Goldberg' Variations in 1933, lamented that the public's eagerness to hear the work was driven by curiosity to see a virtuoso tackle a difficult piece, rather than love for the music itself.

Composition History

The 'Goldberg' Variations were purportedly commissioned by Count Keyserlingk, the Russian ambassador to the court of Dresden, to be played by his young harpsichordist Johann Gottlieb Goldberg during sleepless nights.

Composition History

Bach initially considered variations an "ungrateful task" due to the constant sameness of the fundamental harmony, but these 'Goldberg' Variations became a model of the form under his hand.

Compositional Technique

The 'Goldberg' Variations are built on the bass line and implied harmonies of the opening Aria, rather than its melody, maintaining a consistent harmonic structure throughout the thirty variations.

Compositional Technique

The final Variation 30 is a Quodlibet, a musical joke combining two popular folksongs, reflecting the Bach family's tradition of improvising such pieces at gatherings.

Composer Biography

Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, the harpsichordist for whom the variations were supposedly written, was a prodigious virtuoso who could read anything at sight, even if the score was upside down.